College of Education
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Item The Pinkaiti Partnership: A Case Study of Transnational Research and Education in the Brazilian Amazon(2021) Aruch, Matthew; Lin, Jing; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In 1991, Barbara Zimmerman visited the Mẽbêngôkre-Kayapó community of A’Ukre. A’Ukre and Zimmerman came up with an idea to create the Pinkaiti Ecological Research Station (Pinkaiti) within the federally demarcated Kayapó Indigenous Territories in Brazil’s Pará state. Pinkaiti was conceptualized to: (1) preserve Kayapó forests; (2) strengthen Kayapó culture; (3) create an economic alternative to regional mahogany logging; (4) initiate a tropical ecology research program; and (5) strengthen Kayapó transnational networks. After leaving A’Ukre, Zimmerman recruited Conservation International, an international environmental nongovernmental organization (NGO) as an institutional partner. The “Pinkaiti Partnership” has since evolved into a research and education-based multi-stakeholder partnership that includes a transnational network of community, NGO, university, and government actors. Over time, the partnership moved through four eras of activity: initiation (1991-1995); early research (1995-2000); international research (2000-2004); and the field course (2004 – present). Using an embedded comparative case study methodology, this dissertation unpacks the trajectory of stakeholder groups (A’Ukre community, NGOs, universities) as units of analysis to discuss the structure, process, and outcomes of partnership activities across partnership eras. To analyze partnership dynamics, I use Pinkaiti as a boundary object to trace Pinkaiti partner interactions across horizontal, vertical, and transversal axes. As a boundary object, Pinkaiti takes on multiple meanings and forms, depending on its use and context, as it is activated simultaneously or independently by one or more partnership actors. Partnership actors engage one another by navigating cultural, geographic, institution, or knowledge passage points. By tracing each actor group’s trajectory through the lens of Pinkaiti, the study illustrates how boundary objects both permit and restrict transnational collaboration. At the same time, the study reveals both the opportunities and limits of boundary objects as a conceptual tool. Boundary objects can be useful for tracking histories, clarifying the big picture, highlighting feedback loops, and illuminating invisible work. On the other hand, the Pinkaiti study shows that boundary objects can be limited in scope, reflect designer biases, and reinforce unequal power dynamics. Still, the Pinkaiti Partnership suggests important takeaways for actors interested in the design, implementation, or evaluation of education or research-based transnational partnership work.Item "Backing Away from the Cliff": A Theory of Education for Sustainability in the Postsecondary Classroom(2014) Buckley, Jessica Belue; Quaye, Stephen J; Park, Julie J; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Despite growing efforts for Education for Sustainability (EfS), little empirical research documents EfS in the postsecondary classroom and the ways in which sustainability is defined in these classrooms. The purpose of this study was to provide a theory of EfS in the postsecondary classroom in the United States. I sought to understand how postsecondary educators understand sustainability, how they engage in EfS in the classroom, and what contexts influence their work in EfS. Using a constructivist, grounded theory methodology, I selected three institutions - East State University, Liberal Arts College, and Religious University - for this study given both their diversity of mission and their commitment to EfS. I observed 27 different courses, comprising a total of 67 class meetings, and interviewed a total of 42 individuals, 29 of whom were educators, 11 of whom were students, and 2 who were primarily administrators. Findings revealed that a macro-narrative of sustainability in the classroom concerns (a) the relationship between humanity and the environment, including relationships between communities that are mediated by the environment; (b) the ways in which people come to understand those relationships; and (c) the responsibilities individuals have because of those relationships. Educators described that the term sustainability is complex but also invites dialogue. Variations of EfS in the classroom existed along two continua, one concerning the role of sustainability (whether fundamental or supplemental) and another concerning the teaching framework (practical or theoretical). When used together, these continua created a typology of courses that helped students conceptualize, operationalize, contextualize, or synthesize sustainability. Although variations of EfS existed, a number of pedagogical characteristics were similar in EfS classrooms, including educators' desire to teach beyond content, multiple sources of knowledge, the use of pedagogical partnerships, invitation to conversation among disciplines, and values orientations. These characteristics together demonstrate a path from knowledge to practice in an EfS classroom. Findings provide a theory for understanding sustainability within the context of a postsecondary classroom and possible variations for EfS in the classrooms. They reveal implications for educators - both inside the classroom and within the co-curriculum - as they provide an empirically grounded theory for EfS.